Writing from the Soul

May 19-21, 2017
Friday evening supper through Sunday morning
The Nest near Rolling Ridge Study Retreat in Harpers Ferry WV

"You were made and set here to give voice to this,
your own astonishment."
— Annie Dillard

At its best, writing is an active process of discovery, often surprise. You might start out with one idea, only to be detoured in another direction entirely. In a very real sense, we write to discover what we think and feel. Writing allows us to give voice to the unseen around and within us.

This retreat is an opportunity to come together with fellow lovers of writing in an impromptu community that includes ceremony, journaling, free-writing, sharing, solo wanders on the land, active listening, storytelling, nourishing meals, and other soulful activities.

Join us to

Simply Silence 2017

Following an age-old prayer tradition for contemporary pilgrims with Lindsay McLaughlin and Mary Ann Welter
March 10-12, 2017
Friday evening supper through Sunday morning
Rolling Ridge Study Retreat near Harpers Ferry WV

We need to recover an oasis of silence
within the rhyme and reason of our active life,
for it is in silence
that we meet God face to face.
—Max Picard

Gather at Rolling Ridge Study Retreat for Friday Vespers, followed by 7:00 p.m. dinner and Compline. Arrive Friday after 1:00 p.m. Retreat ends on Sunday morning. Gathered participants will follow contemporary Prayer of the Hours, interspersed with generous time for silence and exploring the forest streams and byways of Rolling Ridge's 1400 acres of natural beauty.

Retreat includes five delicious home-style meals, a "spontaneous community" of gathered lovers of silence, reflections by Lindsay McLaughlin, and gentle guidance for contemplative seekers.

The Enneagram in Motion

An intensive immersion and exploration of the Enneagram led by Russ Hudson and Deborah Rose Longo with Cynthia Bourgeault
February 27 - March 4, 2017
Monday dinner - Saturday lunch
Claymont Society for Continuous Education in Charles Town, WV

The Enneagram in Motion is a special 5-day intensive immersion and exploration of the enneagram led by Russ Hudsonand  Deborah Rose Longo, with a special day of dialogue with Cynthia Bourgeault, held February 27- March 4, 2017 at Claymont Society for Continuous Education, 667 Huyett Rd., Charles Town, WV 25414.

The intent for this time together is to hold a space for an "experiential tria-a-logue" between the enneagram of personality, the Gurdjieff enneagram of transformation, and a movements immersion in a Wisdom school container. This is a unique opportunity to explore the enneagram from a kinesthetic perspective, led by some of the foremost practitioners in the world today.

The Gift of Story

A Retreat for Advent and the Winter Solstice
December 2-4, 2016
5 pm Friday (includes dinner) - lunch on Sunday (depart by 3 pm)
Rolling Ridge Study Retreat near Harpers Ferry WV

The season of Advent is a sacred time for people of faith who find their roots in the soil of Christianity. The Winter Solstice and the span of days surrounding it expand that sense of holiness and wonder to encompass religions and wisdom traditions from around the planet and down through time. This retreat is for all those who hunger for a time of quiet and reflection apart from the busyness of the season: a time to renew and re-invigorate one's faith and journey in a container of reverence and wonder.

It's a respite: a chance to pause, to prepare, to be present.

Open to people of all faith traditions, and to both women and men. In this special season, we are invited to ask three questions in the chambers of our own faith and hearts:

What is love? What is enough? And what does it mean to be incarnate and deeply inhabit this world?

Thriving on the Threshold

Becoming a Community of the New Story
October 21-23, 2016
Friday supper 6:00 pm = Sunday lunch
Still Point Mountain Retreat near Harpers Ferry WV

"You are in this time of the interim
Where everything seems withheld.
The path you took to get here has washed out.
The way forward is still concealed from you.
The old is not old enough to have died away.
The new is still too young to be born."
–John O'Donohue

We live on the threshold between two kinds of stories. The stories that have guided our civilization have led to great unraveling of the planet and of our culture. We long for a new story even as we notice signs of its quiet emergence. Many of us realize our personal stories are changing as well. In this difficult and uncertain time we wonder, where can we find a place of true connection and belonging?

Courting the Realm of Dream and Deep Imagination

Encounters with the Sacred in Nature and the Human Soul
September 16-18, 2016
Friday dinner 7:00 pm - lunch on Sunday
Rolling Ridge Study Retreat near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia




In the beginning was the dream.
Through the dream all things were made,
and without the dream nothing was made
that has been made.
-- Thomas Berry in The Dream of the Earth

Since ancient times the dream world has been understood to be a source of powerful messages, inspiration, and a pathway to wisdom and healing. Like everything around us, we humans were born from the dream world, from the heart of Divine mystery.

Sound & Silence 2016

Embodying prayer through the sacred rhythms of drumming, movement, nature and silence
August 19-21, 2016
5:00 pm Friday - 3:00 pm Sunday
Still Point Mountain Retreat near Harpers Ferry WV

“After silence, that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”
— Aldous Huxley

"Do we know, each one of us, that we are bearers of the sacred beat of life? Do we know that we can honor that beat in one another and in all things? And do we know that it is this combination - of knowing that we are bearers of Presence and choosing to honor Presence in one another - that holds the key to transformation in our lives and world?"
— John Philip Newell

Music & Movement ... Drumming & Dance ... Listening & Silence .... embodiments of prayer allowing us to experience the sacred beat of life connecting us to ourselves, to one another, and to God.

Arts to the Ridge 2016

A creative spirit retreat for girls ages 10-16
June 26-July 1, 2016
supper potluck 3 pm Sunday June 26 - lunch Friday, July 1
Still Point Mountain Retreat near Harpers Ferry WV

Retreat to the Ridge and bring your art with you. If you draw, dance, sing, write, play a musical instrument, sculpt, sew, or otherwise create—this retreat is for you! Practice in an inspiring mountain setting; share creative experiences with one another; explore the connection between silence, spirit, and creativity; try something new in sampler sessions with guest artists. Parents and younger sibs welcome.

Retreat fee is $425. Register and pay by April 15 for $400. Scholarships are available, as well as family/sibling discounts, and discounts for girls of parent staff/artists.

Features:

Children of the Earth

Rolling Ridge annual retreat for children ages 4-8 and their families
May 6-7, 2016 Mother's Day Weekend
Friday, May 6th – Saturday, May 7th, 2016
Rolling Ridge Study Retreat

In our grasshopper and salamander days, who among us didn't ask why the grasshopper could jump so far -- or why the salamander had black dots on its orange body... We lived by wonder, for by wondering we were able to multiply a growing consciousness of being alive.
Richard Lewis, Living by Wonder

This retreat is designed as an inter-generational experience of nature, including:

Every Body's Prayer

Expressing Faith through Movement with Lindsay McLaughlin and Patricia Campbell Carlson
Monday May 2 - Friday May 27, 2016
An online e-course available 24/7

If you have ever lifted your arms in wonder, spun around to greet someone you love, skipped across a lawn, or even lit up with a smile, you know the thrill of movement and more: You know the joy of dancing your prayers. Your body is a vehicle for expressing all manner of spiritual practices, from wonder to peace, grace to reverence, play to beauty, yearning to loving. This is true no matter what the abilities of your body and no matter what you have been led to believe about your limitations.

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